Perhaps Gary Payton, Seattle's point guard, is now ready to lead his team to the altar, just as he did Monique James, whom he wed on July 26 in a posh ceremony in San Francisco. Among the 400 guests were Sonics coach George Karl, president and general manager Wally Walker and owner Barry Ackerley. That Payton's bosses attended "says a lot about how we feel about Gary," Walker says. That they were invited says something, in turn, about how Payton feels about the Sonics.

However, an entirely different message was communicated by the fact that the wedding party included 14 bridesmaids but only 13 groomsmen. That was because Shawn Kemp, then Payton's teammate, had taken himself out of the nuptial lineup, saying he didn't want to attend if the Sonics' brass was going to be present. As a result, swingman Nate McMillan wound up with a bridesmaid on each arm, Kemp missed out on the black suede shoes with a basketball and net embroidered on them that were given to the groom's attendants, and Payton got an early taste of life without Shawn Kemp.

In the locker room after Seattle's loss at Houston in Game 7 of last season's Western Conference semifinals, Kemp had hinted that he might be changing addresses, saying, "There's going to be a lot of changes [in the off-season]." That started trade rumors swirling, and three weeks later Kemp said flatly that he would never play for the Sonics again. He hewed to the hard line throughout the summer of his discontent, going so far as to vacate his house in Seattle and move home to Indiana. When the trade finally came through, on Sept. 25, Kemp didn't have far to travel. He went to Cleveland in a three-way deal that brought the Bucks' 6'10" forward, Vin Baker, to Seattle.

The Sonics didn't want to bow to Kemp's trade demands unless they could get an equivalent talent in return. In Baker, they received such a talent. An All-Star the past three years, the 25-year-old Baker averaged 21.0 points and 10.3 rebounds last season (Kemp averaged 18.7 points and 10.0 rebounds) and was recently named along with Payton to the U.S. team for the world championships next May. What's more, Baker has at least two years left on his contract. An additional boon to the Sonics: With Kemp in the Eastern Conference, they'll have to face him only twice per year.

On the occasions when Seattle does have to contend with a powerful power forward like Kemp, the Sonics can turn to 6'10" veteran Sam Perkins to assist Baker. They also expect Jim McIlvaine to start justifying the seven-year, $35 million contract they lavished on him in 1996. McIlvaine averaged just 18 minutes per game last season, but Walker expects him to start paying dividends soon. "He's already a good defender, and he has worked hard on his offense," the general manager says. "I think you'll see improvement."

The small-forward spot is in good hands, assuming Detlef Schrempf's left hand is good. He had surgery on Sept. 4 to repair a broken bone in his nonshooting hand, but he is expected to have fully recovered by opening day. His backup will be 6'7" free agent Jerome Kersey, who was with the Lakers in 1996-97. Reliable shooting guard Hersey Hawkins rounds out a starting lineup that, aside from the departure of Kemp and the arrival of Baker, is unchanged from last season's.

Even when Kemp was still around, Payton was the team's leader, and he has earned the respect of players around the league. In early September he hosted an all-star game in Seattle that drew 13,000 fans and raised $300,000 for the Big Brothers of King County. Phoenix's Jason Kidd, Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway, Toronto's Damon Stoudamire and other major stars flew to Seattle to play. So did Magic Johnson, even though he had returned from Italy only the night before. "Gary is a community asset," Johnson says. "He's a young man you look to, along with Anfernee and Grant Hill, to lead this league when Michael Jordan retires. He can keep the image of the league up both on and off the court."

The Sonics feel the same way, and with Baker on hand, Payton might just get a championship ring to go with his wedding band.

—Dana Gelin